Herbert wins in Superstars finale
Italian Thomas Biagi (Italia BMW M3) was crowned 2010 International Superstars Series champion at Kyalami on Sunday after finishing
eighth in the penultimate race of the season behind British ex-Formula One driver Johnny Herbert (Motorzone Chevrolet Lumina).
He went on to take a convincing win in the final race to set the seal on a dominant season that started in Monza in Italy in March.
Herbert was the fastest driver on the day, setting a best lap of 1 min 49,32 sec on his way to his first Superstars victory in race one.
Race One
Herbert, who last appeared at Kyalami in a Lotus in the 1993 South African Grand Prix, took an early lead from pole sitter Luigi Ferrara
(CAAL Mercedes C63) with South African Brandon Auby (Motorzone Chevrolet Lumina) third from an impressive fourth on the grid in his first
Superstars drive.
Herbert and Ferrara pulled away from the rest of the field as they engaged in a thrilling battle for supremacy, with Ferrara taking over
the lead from lap two to lap seven before the Briton regained a lead he was to hold onto until the chequered flag after completing 15 laps.
Ferrara kept the pressure on Herbert throughout and eventually crossed the line 2,2 seconds in arrears after dropping back in the final
laps.
A distant third was Ermanno Dionisio (Italia Audi RS4), who finished over 12 seconds behind Herbert. Biagi, who had led Ferrara by 41
points with 43 on offer at the start of the day, was content to stay out of trouble and finish eighth to make sure of the championship in
his rookie year.
The second appearance of the series for V8-engined production cars in South Africa saw a field of 16 cars including WesBank V8 Supercar
champion Auby take to the grid.
Auby made a great start to his first-ever Superstars race and ran an impressive and comfortable third until he spun coming out of The
Bowl on lap seven and pitted into retirement.
Race One Result
1 J Herbert (Chev)
2 L Ferrara (Mercedes)
3 E Dionisio (Audi)
4 F Sini (Mercedes)
5 A Cola (Audi)
6 M Pigoli (Mercedes)
7 R Romagnoli (Jaguar)
8 T Biagi (BMW)
9 R Bossi (Audi)
10 M Cerruti (Mercedes)
Race Two
With the top eight finishers from race one starting race two in reverse order, it was Biagi who led the field away in the rolling start.
At the end of the first lap Massimo Pigoli (Romeo Mercedes C63) led from Riccardo Romagnoli (Ferlito Jaguar) and a charging Herbert, who had
started eighth, and Biagi.
In an incident-filled race which saw nine of the cars sidelined by the time the chequered flag came out after 15 laps (oil on the circuit
was the main culprit), Pigoli held on to his lead until Biagi took over on lap 12. He was followed across the line by Alberto Cola (Italia
Audi RS4) and Pigoli.
Herbert was in a strong second place, pressuring Pigoli, when he slowed and retired with an overheating engine. Ferrara worked his way up
to second after Herbert's exit, but dropped back to fourth after spinning off the circuit in turn 13 on lap 12.
Auby started from 14th position, was already up to seventh at the end of the first lap, but was forced out of the race on lap eight with
gearbox problems while lying sixth.
Race Two Result
1 T Biagi (BMW)
2 A Cola (Audi)
3 M Pigoli (Mercedes)
4 L Ferrara (Mercedes)
5 L Cappellari (BMW)
6 F Sini (Mercedes)
7 F Bonamico (Chev Lumina)
Final championship standings
1 T Biagi 170
2 L Ferrara 132
3 M Pigoli 116
4 A Cola 109
5 F Giovanardi 77
6 G Morbidelli 74
7 J Herbert 66
8 F Sini 63
9 S Gabellini 62
10 L Cappellari 42.